SOUTH BAY AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER (SOUTH BAY AHEC)
Connecting students to careers, professionals to communities, and communities to better health

WHO WE ARE

The South Bay Area Health Education Center, (South Bay AHEC) is one of eleven centers serving the state of California as part of a national approach to bring together community and academic interest to improve access to primary health care services and decrease health disparities. There is a significant unmet need and growing demand for diverse healthcare workers in Santa Clara County; the Partnership's member community health clinics (CHCs) struggle to recruit and hire diverse and culturally competent health workers. The South Bay AHEC is strategically positioned to address these issues.

HISTORY

The AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. The strength of the AHEC Network is its ability to creatively adapt national initiatives to help address local and regional healthcare issues. Today, 54 AHEC programs with more than 200 centers operate in almost every state and the District of Columbia. Approximately 120 medical schools and 600 nursing and allied health schools work collaboratively with AHECs to improve health for underserved and under-represented populations.

PROGRAMS

Health Professions Development
South Bay AHEC provides faculty trainers, equipment, evaluation tools, and continuing education credits to local healthcare providers on a variety of professional development topics. Presentations can be customized to relate to specific provider audiences, local events and epidemiology, and specific public health emergencies. Continuing Education Units (CEUs for Dentists and Nurses) are provided (1.0 credit per 1 hour training) for Partnership-sponsored trainings. There is a $15 cost per unit per physician for Continuing Medical Education (CMEs) units.

Clinical Rotations
The program seeks to improve the readiness of graduate Medical Practitioners (MPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) to enter the community health professions via internships and special community projects, and to augment community clinic preceptorship opportunities for physician assistant (PA) students.

Healthy Futures Pipeline Program
By empowering under-represented minority healthcare workers and preparing health science and medical students to work in community health environments, Healthy Futures expands the pipeline for a diverse health workforce in order to ensure that all residents of Santa Clara County receive excellent and effective care. The program has almost 20 years of successful experience providing professional development opportunities to the next generation of diverse local healthcare professionals to encourage them to begin preparing for their careers as early as middle school through graduate-level education.

What outcomes does the South Bay AHEC pipeline program produce?
The pipeline component of the South Bay AHEC prepares the next generation of young health science and medical students to begin preparing for careers in health care as early as middle school through graduate-level programs:

• Eight first-year medical students enrolled in Stanford University's "Practice of Medicine" course conduct population health projects designed by the South Bay AHEC to address health disparities and determinants of health.  Medical students are tracked to their residency or post graduate location.

• Twenty undergraduate and community college students complete a five-week series called the Leadership Institute, which includes skills-building seminars on community health and public policy, close interactions with health professionals, and interactive visits to local health care facilities.  Undergraduate students with expressed interest in health careers are tracked to placement in healthcare internship and other hands-on learning activities.

• Six hundred high school students at the Medical Magnet Program at Andrew Hill High School (AHHS) and MACSA Academia Calmecac Charter High School participate in over 25 health career presentations conducted by local health professionals, attend a health career fair with participation from local health organizations and educational institutions, and receive peer presentations from trained peer health educators.  High school students are tracked through undergraduate or vocational education with over 85% average pursuance of higher education. 

• Twenty under-represented ethnic minority peer health educators in the Medical Magnet program at Andrew Hill High School increase their knowledge, skills and capacity to deliver effective and credible health education messages to their peers and to 8th graders at Sylvandale Middle School.  Process and outcome evaluation measures are tracked through participating middle and high school youth, as well as through students delivering health education messages.

How is the South Bay AHEC pipeline program implemented?
The South Bay AHEC is one of eleven centers serving the state of California as part of a national approach to bring together community and academic interests to improve access to primary health care services and decrease health disparities. 

• As a result of the strong relationship with Stanford University’s School of Medicine, all first-year medical students are now required to complete the “Practice of Medicine” course. 

• Undergraduate students endure a competitive application process to participate in the Leadership Institute and gain public recognition for their active engagement in the field of health science.

• With over 17 years of experience working with the Medical Magnet program at AHHS, the program was successfully expanded to MACSA A.C. in 2007, both of which actively recruit underrepresented students throughout East Side Union High School District with specific desire to enter higher education despite their disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 

• Due to close geographic proximity and large population of Latino students, Sylvandale Middle School graduates are primary candidates to become incoming AHHS Medical Magnet and MACSA A.C. freshmen.  Developing a mentorship relationship between peer health educators and these middle school students often results in further inquiries about continuing to be involved with the pipeline program.

How can I learn more about the South Bay AHEC pipeline program?
Contact us by email at ahec@chpscc.org or call Community Health Partnership at 408.556.6605.